Go to Joy Of Smoothies or Whole Living for more healthy smoothie ideas. And remember — what you put in your smoothie and ultimately in your body has a lasting effect on how you look and feel inside and out.

I’ve often thought that when I’m “Racing Alzheimer’s,” I’m getting an added bonus of (hopefully) preventing other diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and even obesity. I mean, my brain is the ultimate target of my efforts, but since my head IS attached to my body, well, my body benefits too.

That’s why I love this article titled “Having It All” by David Katz, MD. In it he says, “No organ is an island; every organ is a piece of the organism, a part of the body. The health of each depends on the health of all.” Dr. Katz also goes on to say there’s not ONE thing any of us can do to keep this beautiful organism healthy. Rather, it’s a concerted effort of many things — clean and healthy eating, exercise, mental stimulation as well as mental calm like meditation. Also, getting enough sleep. And having social connections and loving relationships. And not smoking. And . . . you know the drill.

What disease runs in your family that you would like to prevent? Focus on that, and chances are you’ll be protecting yourself from the other guys too.

Do you ever put on your workout clothes and then not exercise? Maybe you end up wearing them all day while doing everything but exercising? Yeah, me too. It’s amazing how much I can get done when I’m laced up and ready to go. I’ve cleaned out the fridge, weeded gardens, plucked my eyebrows and vacuumed the entire house to postpone a work out. And if you see me wearing my work out clothes in the grocery store? You’d be correct — I’m deep into avoidance. I’ll admit, I’ve done this a fair amount of times — and yesterday was no different.

My gear was on and I was trying to decide between doing a dvd or going for a run. Both would be tough at this point since I’ve been L A Z Y under my rock. I couldn’t decide and so I checked my email, facebook and twitter accounts. Still couldn’t decide so I cleaned the kitchen, watered plants, did the sudoku and got the mail.

And there it was. A kick in the pants in my mailbox.

Personal mail in a handwritten envelope! Like the crack rush I get when I have a new comment on my blog except NOTHING compares to snail mail. The fact that someone bought a card and wrote in it with a real pen makes it so personal. And touching. It’s practically an extinct art form.

It was a card from a friend offering encouragement to just hang in there and keep running. Telling me to take it one day at a time and to remember that “It’s better to run a slow 3 miles than stay on the sofa.” This from a runner who can run half marathons meant a lot. The timing was perfect. I actually laughed out loud and thought how did she know?

I put the mail on the counter, stretched and ran out the door.

It was the fastest I’ve run in a month — and it felt great.

Two things I’ve taken away from this:

The old cliche JUST DO IT is true. I’ve already made my decision to exercise regularly to keep my brain and body healthy. Now I need to respect my decision and just friggin do it!

Kindness is priceless. Unexpected, out of the blue kindness is even better. I can’t wait to pay it forward.

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I read or hear news confirming the possibility of preventing or delaying Alzheimer’s I am renewed with hope! The idea that my future can be influenced by the choices I make today is pretty powerful and it helps me stay the course of being an Alzheimer’s Warrior.

That’s why I love this recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune titled “10 Ways To Keep Your Brain Sharp.” It offers clear and simple ways to love your brain, with exercise being the top two. GET MOVING is #1 and says, “If you do only one thing to keep your brain young, exercise.” This is my motivation — nothing has given me a better reason to lace up and break a sweat. PUMP IRON is #2 on the list. I don’t pump iron. Yet.

The bonus? A healthy brain is just ONE of the benefits of following this list.

“Skinny Bitch” is a book that had me at page one. It’s a funny in your face rant on health and nutrition that I found refreshing. I didn’t know it at the time, but when I read this book 4 years ago, I was at the beginning of my Alzheimer’s prevention escapades. I was starting to make healthy changes in my life and this sassy little book gave me the kick in the pants that I needed.

I was out of shape, had no energy and wasn’t sleeping well. This book, which is more about being healthy than it is about being skinny helped open my eyes to the crap I was eating that was well, making me feel like crap.

I used to drink diet soda and eat Doritos, and now I don’t. I used to trust the FDA, their nifty food pyramid, and their claim that Bagel Bites are okay to eat. Now I don’t. And you shouldn’t either.

For example, for years I loved my espresso in the morning with Coffee-Mate, sugar and cinnamon. Then Skinny Bitch said:

If you want to get skinny, you can only rely on yourself. If you adapt only one practice from this book, let it be this: Read the ingredients. Forget counting carbs, adding calories, and multiplying fat grams. Just read the ingredients. . . . . If they are healthy, wholesome, and pure — dive in. If there is refined sugar, white or bleached flour, hydrogenated oils, and animal products, artificial anything, or some scary-looking word that you don’t know — don’t eat it.

I immediately thought about my beloved Coffee-Mate — yes beloved, and I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough, I found a list of ingredients I couldn’t pronounce. Harmful, scary, mystery shit. That was it, I never used Coffee-Mate again. And since espresso is blech without cream or sugar — I now drink tea and coffee. No cream, milk or sugar needed.

I don’t mean to pick on Coffee-Mate, but it’s such a good example of how I . . . we eat things every day that were never meant to be consumed. Plus, it was the first of many “food” items I dropped, so it kinda has a special place in my heart. Next were the Doritos and the diet soda.

Now I read ingredients to get and stay healthy and to prevent mystery chemicals from leaching into my brain.

If you’re Racing Alzheimer’s too, (or just want to be healthy), it’s important to read all ingredients and try not to eat crap. If you can’t pronounce it or don’t know what it is, then it shouldn’t be on your food list. As Skinny Bitch says, “keep it healthy, wholesome, and pure.”